Visual Design Advice

Jan 26, 2016

Claudia Marinozzi
By Claudia Marinozzi

I'm not sure if it's okay to post this question here as it is not Articulate specific, however I am creating a training with Storyline 2, and most of the training consists of imported videos that have text and voiceover.  Basically, the sizing of the video is such that there is a black bar across the top and bottom of the screen unless I stretch the video up and down to match the dimensions of my slide (which I don't want to do).  I also would prefer not to change the size of the slides because the setting I'm using is best for how trainings launch from our LMS.

 

My question is this - if you have to use video that has a black strip or bar across the top and bottom of the screen, are there any design best practices that can make this look more visually appealing?  or that can make it not look like the video is just too narrow for the screen?

 

I hope this makes sense.  Thank you in advance for any help!

 

Thanks,

Claudia

2 Replies
Bob S
8 years ago01/26/16 at 8:38 pm (UTC)

 

 

 

Hi Claudia,

 

What are you are talking about is called the aspect ratio. Basically, your video was shot in one particular aspect ratio, and you are trying to display it in a frame designed for a different ratio.  Think: a rectangular painting viewed through a square window.

 

My best advice would be to do one of two things if possible...

 

  1. Change the aspect ratio of the frame you are viewing the video in to match the aspect ration of the video clip.
  2. With some video software, re-edit the video clip to match the display frame. Depending on the software, this can mean simply cropping off the sides, doing a progressive stretch (less noticeable than brute force stretch), or doing something called a "pan and scan",   Even my favorite low-priced toolkit, the inexpensive AVS4You suite, has some of these features for around $50 last I checked.

 

Hope this helps!

Judy Nollet
8 years ago01/26/16 at 9:11 pm (UTC)

I suggest having a standard background behind all the videos. Nothing too fancy or bright or otherwise distracting. Just something simple so the background isn't black.

  • If the black bars you mentioned are actually within the videos, then adding a background requires editing the videos. You'll need special software -- or a pro with special software -- to do that. But the end result is great for visually tying together multiple video clips with different formats.
  • If the black bars are from a black slide showing behind the video area, then add a graphic behind the video.

I've done both of the above for different projects.

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